Decision on Dublin traffic plan within 2 weeks – council

The Chief Executive of Dublin City Council will decide within two weeks when to implement the Dublin City Transport Plan, the local authority has said.

It comes after groups representing commuters and other members of the public met Dublin City Council officials to discuss their concerns over possible delays to the new transport plan for the city centre.

The first phase of the plan, which involves limiting cars passing through the city, was due to roll out next month but was put on hold after businesses warned of a significant financial impact.

Richard Shakespeare has said he will now consider their economic assessment before he decides when it will be implemented.

The Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance submitted the report to him today.

The group, comprised of well-known retailers and service providers including Brown Thomas, Arnotts, Retail Excellence Ireland and Restaurants Association of Ireland estimate that more than €141 million will be lost in retail spending when the plan is fully in effect in 2028.

It says the change to the traffic flow through the city will “ultimately” create a devastating and long-term impact on Dublin city trade.

Donald McDonald, Chief Executive of Brown Thomas Arnotts, said the plan “overlooks the critical role that shopping plays” in Dublin and “has little or no consideration for the many people who have a reliance on a car.”

The impact for other businesses in the city centre has also been highlighted, with Adam Hallissey of the RAI stating that if their assessment which shows the economic loss “means delaying and going back to the drawing board, then that is what we hope to see”.

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Delays leading to frustration among commuter groups

This possible delay, however, has led to frustration among groups representing commuters and members of the public.

They met the Chief Executive of Dublin City Council after requesting a meeting.

Karl Stanley of Dublin Cycling Campaign said he thinks the council would “prefer to roll it out next month but realistically they have to weigh up the risk of doing that against the risk of legal action by vested interests who want to maintain the status quo”.

He believes the changes to traffic will encourage a lot more people to cycle and change the urban area making it safer for people but he is not surprised by the objections of what he described as “legacy business owners” to the transport plan.

“The real movers behind this are car park owners. They are the people who fundamentally stand to lose out with less car traffic in the city.”

Mr Stanley said they are entitled to defend their business interests.

He added, however, that there is an argument that the entire public realm and the million plus people in Dublin are “held to ransom by a tiny number of people with deep pockets and a legacy business model”.

He said he would love to see progress being made on this plan.

The meeting was also attended by environmental policy campaigner Ciara Murphy.

She warned of the rising level of transport emissions and said stalling on this plan only leads to more people with chronic health conditions being impacted by pollution.

Green Party Councillor Janet Horner said while it is not for councillors to decide on this roll out, the consensus is most are in favour of it being delivered sooner rather than later.

She said she is hopeful it will get the green light next month as there has already been a public consultation which garnered a significant amount of support, with changes made after concerns were raised.

She said August is the ideal time to roll it out, to make changes when traffic is at reduced levels.

Additional reporting Colman O’Sullivan